Blow Up Dice No Prop or Prep Primary Song Review Activity

 INTRODUCTION:

I love simple activities that I can just grab-and-go, especially when life seems extra hectic.  My favorite grab-and-go activity is the Silly Signs.  If you do not know what I am talking about, then look at my blog post here.  The Silly Signs do take much more prep than this activity, even though the prep is worth it.  You can have the signs forever and even add on to the Silly Signs when you have ideas.  The dice Singing Activity is so simple and takes a ton less prep than the Silly Signs!

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

1.  I ordered two of these blowup dice from Amazon:

2.  I created visuals and then printed them out on cardstock for the No-Prep/No Prop singing activities.  I got the singing activity ideas from  here on camillesprimaryideas.com.  Here are two samples of the activity visuals:

VISUAL PDF'S:

Here are the PDF's that you can print.                  

Move your mouse in the left right hand corner and you will see a little arrow inside a small box.  Click on it to open the PDF's.                     🠟

After I printed the pictures I had to trim them so they would fit in the dice plastic inserts.  I think I cut them to be 8"x8".  Maybe a little smaller.  I cut one of them the size it should be and then used that to measure all of the other papers.

**There are 12 inserts on the dice and only 9 No Prep/Prop activities on Camille's website that I used.  I made a sign for "Body Rhythm" and I put one "Silly Sign" on each of the dice.  The kids love the silly signs.  In fact some of the children just wanted to do the Silly Signs.  If you do not have Silly Signs, then you can make your own sign for the remaining two plastic inserts on the dice.  You could have a sign that says "your choice" or "teachers sing" or any other idea you come up with. 

HOW TO USE:

There are two different ways I have used the Silly Signs and the Dice Signs.

1.  You can use the dice to review one song.  This way every time you sing the same song there is a different activity to go along with the song so the children do not get bored singing the same song over and over.

2.  You can use the dice to review multiple songs.  This way you would choose out of the songs you are teaching for the program and have someone role the dice to see which activity to do while singing the song chosen.  It is a great way to review the songs for the program.

DESCRIPTION OF EACH ACTIVITY:

I don't know about you, but my mind goes blank sometimes when I am up in front of the children.  I made a Word document with the description of each activity.  I had it sitting on the little table in front of the primary room so that I could easily reach for it and read the description.  Don't read it out loud.  I learned the hard way that there are some activities where the children have to guess the song or the word.  Also, for the Body Rhythm activity, I just asked four children to come up.  I gave each child a rhythm (snap fingers, clap, pat lap, stomp foot).  Then when I touched a child's head the child would do the rhythm assigned to him/her.  Then I would put my hand on the next child's head and that child would do the rhythm assigned to him/her, and so on.  Here are the activity descriptions (rules/definitions):

Silent Singer:

A child is called out into the hallway. The Primary chooses another child to be the silent singer.  They are to only mouth the words but make no sound (in essence, pretending to sing). The child in the hallway is called back in and must figure out who is the silent singer.

 

Body Pitch Leading:

As you sing a song, have the children stand and move their bodies up or down relating to how the notes move in the song.  If the notes move up, the bodies move up and as the notes move down, bodies move down.

 

Endure to the End:

Children hold up their arms (like a “T”) as they sing.  The last child to put their arms down is the winner.  It doesn’t get any easier than that!

 

Charades:

Pick keywords, phrases or song titles to have the children act out.  Once guessed, sing the song!  If guessing words, a fun variation is to omit that word (or sing it loudly) when singing the song.

 

Lights Off:

Sing when the lights are on and listen (don’t sing) when the lights are off as the piano continues playing.  Choose good singers to switch the lights on and off as the rest of the children sing. 

 

Duck, Duck, Sing!:

Put chairs in a circle or sit on the floor in a circle. A child walks around the room tapping heads. The pianist plays the song and stops randomly. The person who was tapped on the head last has to say what the next word or line of the song is. If they get it correctly, they get to be the next one to go around the room.

 

Jack in the Box:

All the kids are in a pretend box. Think of a word in your song (preferably one that repeats a lot) and don’t share it.  When the secret word is sung, give two thumbs up to the kids. The kids jump up when they see your thumbs. At the end of the song, the kids have to tell you what your secret word was.

 

Who’s Missing:

Send a child into the hall and pick 2-4 kids to hide together behind the piano (or bring a blanket or sheet). The child from the hall returns and has until the end of song to figure out who is missing from their seat.

 

Freeze Tag:

The pianist stops randomly and the kids freeze.  Choose a child.  The child must complete the phrase by saying it correctly in order to unfreeze the Primary.  If incorrect, the Primary must remain frozen for the remainder of the song.  If correct, the Primary unfreezes and continues on with a new child and phrase to freeze

Silly Singing Signs

I have some activities where the kids are singing the song over and over.  Usually that would be very boring.  With the Silly Signs, the children are never bored!  They love the Silly Signs.  I am always thinking up new ideas for the silly signs.  

The time it took me to put these signs together was worth it!  It is really self explanatory how the signs work, but I always try to put as many details into my posts because I know how it is to be stumped when everyone else gets something.  It happens all the time to me.  

*The PDF files are shared at the end of the blog*

Click on video below for directions on how to sing with the Silly Signs:

Pictures of Silly Signs: 

I am holding a Silly Sign in the above two photos.  The two signs are back-to-back.  The tongue on one side and the elephant on the other.  As we sing the song, I will flip it back-and-forth.  The children have to pay attention to when I flip the sign to the other side.  The four pictures below are examples of the PDF versions of the Silly Signs. As you can see the size and color of the signs that go together have matching background colors.  I have a TON of Silly Signs!

Supplies needed to make Silly Signs:

1.  Painter sticks from Home Depot or Lowes

2.  Paper to print out signs

3.  Packing tape

4.  Box or basket to hold the signs

How to make:

I think it is self explanatory.  I printed the signs out on cardstock and then laminated them.  Then I cut around each of the signs with a paper cutter.  You can use scissors if you do not have a paper cutter.  I used the packing tape to tape the signs to the painter sticks.  You can watch the videos below to see how I tape the Silly Signs to the painter sticks.  All together the three videos take up one minute and thirty-three seconds.  For some reason I had to break the video up to be able to post it.

I got a cardboard box to hold the signs.  I put white contact paper around the box and then decorated it.  You don't have to decorate it!  The children will love the activity even if the signs are in a beat up old box or plastic grocery bag.

How to Use During Singing Time:

I have used the signs for multiple songs or for just one song.  I have passed the box around as we have sung and when the song is done then the child who has the box gets to pick the next sign.  Usually I pick a child who is being reverent to come up and pick the sign.  I ask the child if he/she would like to be the one that flips the sign or if the child would like me to flip the sign.  Sometimes I don't give them an option and I am the one that flips the signs.

*Just a suggestion so things do not get out-of-control!:  Every time I bring my Silly Signs I go over some ground rules.  The only way we can use the silly signs is if the children are reverent between singing the songs.  For some of the signs, like sitting and standing, the song should be sung normally, not silly at all.  If there is rowdiness between singing songs then I put my signs away and tell them that we will just be singing the song normally.  After singing the song normal a few times then I ask them if they think they can behave so we can sing with the Silly Signs again.  

Click on the PDF files below to print out your own copies of the Silly Signs!

(There are multiple PDF files.  Some files only have one or two silly signs.  I have made the Silly Signs over the course of a few year.  I did not make all of them at the same exact time.  That is why there are six different PDFs.  I have already thought of a few more signs that I want to make.  One will be the griddy and dabbing since mothers across the nation have not gotten enough of their kids constantly doing them. haha.)

First PDF Contains:

*wiggle like a dog/march like an ant

*sway like an elephant/hop like a kangaroo

*flap your wings like a butterfly/clap your hands like a seal

*scratch like a monkey/peck like a woodpecker

Second PDF Contains:

*stand up/sit down

*children sing/teachers sing

*slow like a turtle/fast like a rabbit

*sing like a baby/sing like a grandma

*sing like a cowboy/sing like an opera singer

Third PDF Contains:

*sing with your tongue out/sing with your nose plugged

*girls sing/boys sing

 

Fourth PDF Contains:

*light hair/dark hair

*this side (arrow pointing left)/this side (arrow pointing right)

*summer/winter

*brown eyes/green & blue eyes

*basketball/football

*birthday/Christmas

 

Fifth PDF Contains:

*hotel/tent

chocolate/vanilla

hamburger/pizza

 

Sixth PDF Contains:

*stop/go

  

Seventh PDF Contains:

*Stand like a Flamingo/Dance like a Chicken

*Sing like a rock star (air guitar or head bang)/Dance like a robot

*Whisper like a librarian/Sing like a British Gentleman (British accent)

*Sing like a snorkeler  (sing like you're underwater by moving your fingers up and down across your lips)/Sing with a smile (lips can't touch while smiling)

*Dance like a ballerina/Drum like a drummer

The next two signs are single signs with no backs.  There is just one sign for one painter's stick:

*Echo each line (There is a picture of a duck on the sign.  There is a belief that a duck's quacks do not echo, which has been debunked depending on which scientist one listens.  For the fun of primary, one side of the room will sing a line of the song and the other side will repeat the line throughout the entire song.)

*Each side sings every other word (There is a picture of a tennis player serving a ball.  One side of the room will sing the first word of the song and the other side will sing the second word of the song and so forth throughout the song.)

The next two PDF files are for Wintertime & Christmastime:

 

Eighth PDF Contains:

*Stand like a Christmas tree/Melt like a snowman

*Sip hot cocoa/Make a snow angle

*Hee-Haw like Mary's donkey/Baaaa like the shepherd's sheep

*Dance like a Nutcracker ballerina/Sing ho-ho-ho like Santa

*Shine like the Christmas star/Sing baby Jesus to sleep

 

Ninth PDF Contains:

*Sing with a hunchback/Waddle like a penguin

*Grow antlers like a reindeer/Sing with tusks like a walrus

(I looked up animals that live in the North Pole and I added animals that remind people of winter.)

I hope you enjoy the silly signs as much as I have enjoyed them!